For corporate and IP counsel, 2014 was the year of patent reform, as the landscape shifted from good ideas into practical actions. Those actions are still taking shape, and it's unclear how comprehensive, effective and sustainable they will be. Nevertheless, legislative and regulatory patent reform was finally in play.

For many U.S. employers, the most important parts of the President’s immigration agenda were barely reported in the mainstream media and only merited a few words in the President’s speech to the nation.